It is well known in underground mine workings to employ low power electrical cables and connectors which have to be very rugged to cope with the harsh conditions. To protect the electrical wires of such cables it is known from German Utility Model No. 84 357 43.6 and GB No. 2072792 to use a cable assembly in which the wires are encased in an hydraulic hose equipped at its ends with standard hose couplings. These couplings take the form of plug-in connectors which mate within sockets of complementary connectors. Locking devices such as pins or U-shaped clamping pieces are used to fix the mating connectors together. The connectors contain contact carriers with electrical contact elements which mate together when the connectors are brought together in the correct orientation.
The production of known cable assemblies for mining is comparatively expensive not the least because the connectors are made from numerous parts which are produced separately and then assembled. The protective hydraulic hose typically employs a two-layered armoured reinforcement with an embedded steel braiding and is an expensive item. Conventional hoses of this kind are designed to withstand high pressures and to have a certain amount of flexibility. When subjected to tensile force the hose tends to stretch by about 10% and to permit such stretching without damaging the electric wires the latter have to be somewhat longer than is desired.
A general object of the invention is to provide a low current cable assembly which has a simplified construction and is economic to produce.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cable assembly which is able to withstand considerable tensile force without damaging the electrical wires.